


The Breath I've Taken (And The One I Must)

by rangerthrondir (bisexualusagi)



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, also tell us every single detail of their backstory bc im dying, austin please... please just let them be happy.......
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-18 00:05:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11279592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualusagi/pseuds/rangerthrondir
Summary: “Perhapsthis,” he continued, gesturing at the now-empty bottle of wine on the coffee table, “was not the most conducive to studying, hm?”Arrell smirked back, as best he could manage. “I seem to recall the wine beingyouridea.”





	The Breath I've Taken (And The One I Must)

**Author's Note:**

> IDK Y'ALL its 4am and i'm sad about season 3 ending and all i'm capable of writing is fluffy bullshit!!! bye!!!
> 
> title is from The Wrote and the Writ by Johnny Flynn which, doesn't fit the mood of this fic at all but it's a very good song for them and i listened to it on repeat while writing this

“Tutor?” A thin hand waved in front of Arrell’s face, snapping him out of his reverie. “Are you in there?”

He had been checking on Fantasmo, as he often did, making sure he wasn’t missing anything important. He needn’t have bothered - ever since the University fell, his construct had been doing little else but hiding away in Velas, rereading old tomes and brooding.

_Not that I’m making much better use of my time,_ Arrell mused, staring at the wine glass he was holding.

“Arrell,” Alyosha tried again, leaning in towards him on the sofa, and, oh, had they always been sitting that close together?

Arrell shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, then swallowed. “Apologies, Pupil,” he said, “I seem to have lost myself in thought.”

“I could tell,” his student said with a smirk. “Perhaps _this,”_ he continued, gesturing at the now-empty bottle of wine on the coffee table, “was not the most conducive to studying, hm?”

Arrell smirked back, as best he could manage. “I seem to recall the wine being _your_ idea.” Arrell disliked drinking, truthfully; he couldn’t stand the feeling of not being able to think clearly, and made it a point to keep away from alcohol as much as possible. Yet Alyosha had had no trouble convincing him to open the bottle as they ate dinner in Arrell’s apartment, and then to bring it with them to the other room as they pored over books by candlelight.

Alyosha could convince him of a lot, these days. Speaking of...

“Yes, well,” Alyosha said as he leaned forward, placing his glass on the table. “Getting you to loosen up now and then is quite the challenge I’ve taken on - one missed night of studying is a small price to pay.”

“Aha, so that was your ploy!” Arrell's grin widened, and he was starting to see the appeal of alcohol - he couldn’t remember the last time he felt this content.

“I made no effort to conceal it,” Alyosha said, his smile softer now as he looked at Arrell, who stared right back. Alyosha’s braid had come undone, and a lock of golden hair had fallen in his face. Out of instinct, Arrell reached forward to tuck it behind his ear, and then, barely even realizing what he was doing, cupped the side of his face and closed the rest of the distance.

They kissed for a full second before Alyosha gasped against his mouth, and Arrell jumped back as if he had been burned.

“I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have... I simply...” Thoughts were racing through his head, and Arrell couldn’t form the words to explain himself, any coherent thoughts giving way to anxiety.  _He’s done it now, he’s ruined the only happiness he had felt in decades, there was no way he could blame it on the wine, Alyosha was far too smart for that, Alyosha knew, he would leave, he would -_

Lost in thought as he was once again, it took Arrell far too long to realize that Alyosha was laughing. Not _at_ him, necessarily, but a bright, quiet laughter expressing the same happiness that Arrell had felt only moments ago.

“Do you see what I mean, Tutor?” Alyosha reached out to touch his hand, and Arrell let him, sitting back down, and Alyosha leaned in and whispered, “You worry far too much.”

They didn’t speak much for the rest of the night, and Arrell knew, in the back of his mind, that he would come to regret this, whether that moment was the next morning or years from now. But, for once, he allowed himself not to care. In the face of the impending apocalypse, what was one more regret?

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first time writing for this fandom so comments are super appreciated!! also please let me know about any typos or huge contradictions with canon, once again i wrote this at 4am
> 
> ty for reading, i'm on twitter @rangerthrondir!


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